In a liberal world the Bush tax cuts took food out of poor babies mouths. Yet the numbers don't lie.<br><br>Washington is teeing up "the rich" for a big tax hike next year, as a way to make them "pay their fair share." Well, the latest IRS data have arrived on who paid what share of income taxes in 2006, and it's going to be hard for the rich to pay any more than they already do. The data show that the 2003 Bush tax cuts caused what may be the biggest increase in tax payments by the rich in American history.<br><br>This is precisely what supply-siders predicted would happen with lower tax rates on capital gains, dividends and income. The economy and earnings would grow faster, which they did; investors would declare more capital gains and companies would pay out more dividends, which they did; the rich would invest less in tax shelters at lower tax rates, so their tax payments would rise, which did happen.<br><br>The idea that this has been a giveaway to the rich is a figment of the left's imagination. Taxes paid by millionaire households more than doubled to $274 billion in 2006 from $136 billion in 2003. No President has ever plied more money from the rich than George W. Bush did with his 2003 tax cuts. These tax payments from the rich explain the very rapid reduction in the budget deficit to 1.9% of GDP in 2006 from 3.5% in 2003.<br><br><br><br>

Me thinks it's smoke and mirrors...<br><br>and the # of millionaires doubling from 2002 to present to >300,000.... geez I didn't know there were that many oil men and war profiteers !! <br><br>David (OFI)

These kind of articles give me a migraine as they prove the oft repeated bon mot that data can always be manipulated to prove your point. But only if you show part of the story. This article cherry picks the analysis so badly that the blind man holding the elephant's tail now thinks the snake in his hand is his own penis. Even Rush Limbaugh when he writes his annual diatribe about taxes leaves links to the primary data so one can see how he skims only the numbers he wants.<br><br>But there are some weird numbers. [color:blue]<br><br>chart shows that the top 1% of taxpayers, those who earn above $388,806, </font color=blue><br><br>It only takes 388K annual gross to make it into the top 1%?? Something is not kosher here. Someone, perhaps a lot of rich people who by this chart likely are sprinkled throughout the top 5% are hiding their adjusted gross income in tax shelters. This points out the first fallacy which is the idea of using only gross income to measure wealth and income. When Steve Jobs was only making a buck he was such a poor boy. It's like trying to paint a fair tax story but only including taxpayers who run their time card through a time stamper.<br><br>[color:blue]The most amazing part of this story is the leap in the number of Americans who declared adjusted gross income of more than $1 million from 2003 to 2006. The ranks of U.S. millionaires nearly doubled to 354,000 from 181,000 in a mere three years after the tax cuts.</font color=blue><br><br>I find that amazing too. But everyone has been saying this is happening. It's called the very rich getting very richer. Adjusted gross income over a million and you are rich no doubt about it. Or rich and stupid if you cannot adjust your gross downward but all those tax shelters might be groaning already and you just cannot hide one more dollar. Since you can get into the 1% club with only 388K gross what percent is this group? Likely top 0.01%. Woopie for that lofty club. <br><br>But I really shouldn't be picking even a couple of numbers since these data are already so cherry picked not even an elephant wearing red toenail polish could hide in this tree although the author tries very very hard to do so.<br><br>What is sad is someone making less than 388K believing the Wall Street Journal Op Eds are talking to you. They're not. They're trying to make the people who are making more than 5 million per year after taxes sleep better while looking altruistic. Such a great con. Ponzi and PT Barnum were babes in the woods compared to the WSJ. Suckers are born every day. Then they turn into poor Republicans. <br><br><br><br><br>

<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr><p>Tax revenues increased as a direct result of lower taxes. <p><hr></blockquote><p> This has been proven wrong again and again. Virtually all economists have dropped this fallacy. As NK has pointed out. Work inflation in there and the increase is gone. But we need a huge dose of inflation to make this 9 trillion dollar debt to disappear so I guess it all comes out in the wash in some conservative minds. At least the ones who have their adjusted gross incomes, scratch that , their real incomes, tied to real inflationary indexes. No one would be foolish enough to think they could survive the next ten years on a static income.<br><br>National debt rises when Bush cuts taxes. Prove that false and you got me over a barrel. Real federal services decrease when Bush cuts taxes. Prove that false. State debt increases when Bush cuts taxes. Prove that wrong. <br><br><br><br><br><br><br>

Yeah I have to agree ...all one needs to do is go back an look evey big tax cut we had (Reagan, Bush1, Bush2) the National debt rate went way up.... and the one time recently they raised taxes (Clinton) the debt came down... first (and last) time in decades...<br><br>again smoke and mirrors.<br><br>Logic says if you cut income you must also cut spending to keep the same balance .... Like Reagan, this Bush cut taxes and raised spending !... hence we go from $5.4 trillion when he came in to ~$10 when he leaves... <br>and Bob Bar leaves the GOP for the Libertarian Party. <br><br>David (OFI)

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